Mens Health has a great article on the nutrients and eating skills necessary to lose fat. I usually hate the slant of these articles because I thing the target them at 18 year old kids getting ready to go to the bar but thats just my attitude. The article is great and I am going to paraphrase the points here as I think there is some knowledge I can add and the article was a little wordy.

1. To lose weight, you must cut calories
The low-fat/low-carbohydrate debate comes down to this: You still have to eat fewer calories than you burn if you want to lose weight. Every study I looked at shows this. The perfect weight-loss diet is the one you can live with, whether you cut fat, carbs, or some combination.

2. Take Whey protein
A daily shake made with two scoops of whey protein, fruit (fresh or frozen berries or a banana), and water or crushed ice will decrease hunger. You can buy whey protein at any grocery store nowadays, this is the best option for protein enhancement in your diet.

3. Meat kills fat
Protein takes the most calories to assimilate and digest, followed by carbohydrates, followed by fat. Animal proteins increase thermogenesis more than vegetable proteins, so the best calorie-burning foods are lean meats. Build your dinner around lean chicken, beef, or pork. That way, you’re burning the most calories through digestion at the end of the day, when your metabolism is slower. This is one of the big reasons that I think people are too concerned about their fat intake but at the same time do not eat enough protein.
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Hmmm…I am not to sure about the BMI. There are real problems with throwing everyone into a table and deciding how fat or thin they are based on only two factors: Height and Weight.

You may have seen that at the top of this page I have a BMI and BMR Calculator, well the biggest question about this is what is BMI and why should I care?

The BMI stands for Body Mass Index and the body mass index is simply a calculation of your height versus your weight to come up with a number, hopefully not a number over 30 which is classifies as obese.

There are more important factors but you can plug in your numbers of height and weight anyway and see where your BMI stands. I would rather that we never take this number too seriously as anyone with any muscle will come in as very overweight but the health authorities in both Canada and the United States swear by the BMI in the absence of any easy way to judge peoples level of obesity.

OK, so why am I a little underwhelmed by BMI numbers? Well one of the problems with the BMI is that when you take a persons shape into consideration then the number may not be too accurate. Carrying to much muscle? Carrying a little too much fat across your entire body? Are you too young? These are all a way that BMI will give you warped numbers.

Really thought there is a good reason for BMI and that is to make sure that you know where you stand. Many of us are a little too confident that we do not have a weight problem and really losing that 10 or 20 pounds and therefor beinging your BMI down is maybe the best thing you can do for yourself and you may not even realize it.

Try out the BMI calculator now and see what your BMI is at.

Getting bigger muscles is the top priority of anyone working out with weights. Lets look at how your muscles get bigger and then you can figure out what it will take for you to increase your muscle gains.

Muscle hypertrophy

Muscle hypertrophy is when your muscles cells get thicker. You muscle cells will thicken but not lengthen and it is still up in the air as to whether your muscles cell will actually split or divide to get larger. The best way to cause muscle hypertrophy is to put pressure on your muscles so that they expect to need to push more weight.

Another form of muscle building is Muscle Hyperplasia and this is the actual splitting of muscle cells. Anyone that has seen a giant bodybuilder has to wonder if we all have the same number of cells

Resistance training

Resistance training is doing weights. It is just about that simple. What you really want is to make yourself stronger by making your body more able to handle heavier and heavier weight for at least four reps. Power lifters as you have probably seen in the Olympics are not the biggest guys and that is because their goal is to lift the most weight for exactly one rep. To fool your muscles into thinking that they have to be able to lift more weight they will need to do a few reps at the higher weight. Your body will then get used to this higher weight by increading the strength of the individual muscle cells

How big should your workout be?

There are many strategies to get stronger and the idea behind all of these strategies is to be able to lift more weight for a few reps a month from now then your are doing now. You have a few options and they are these

• Number of reps per set
• Number of sets per exercise
• Number of exercises per muscle group
• Amount of rest between workouts

All of these parameters are a little too much to cover in this article so I will cover them later but for now just think about how you are structuring your workouts and frequency of workouts.

I hope that this info helps you understand how to get bigger and better at working out I hope you that if you have any questions then you can of course leave comments here as well.

Glucosamine with Chondroitin is an excellent supplement for joint health. Its function is to draw fluid into the joint and lubricate it. Please check with your doctor if you are currently on any medications before taking it.

Glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, and MSM (methylsulfonylmethane) occur naturally in the body. The glucosamine used in supplements is typically derived from the shells of crabs although a corn source is also available.

Glucosamine is available in a variety of chemical forms, such as glucosamine hydrochloride and glucosamine sulfate. These vary in terms of the amount of actual glucosamine available for use in the body from an equal weight of each form (See ConsumerTip™ for Glucosamine for more information).

Chondroitin sulfate is generally derived from cow cartilage, but porcine (pig) and even chicken cartilage has been used and algae are another potential source. MSM is synthetically produced. Read the rest of this entry »

I always love hearing the myths and lies about fitness and thinking about where they cme from. Here is a list of lies, or at least partial lies and why. Changing your mindset to reflect reality is  on  of the best things that you can do to make better eating and exercise decisions.

A lot of cardio is the most efficient way to lose body fat. FALSE!

Excessive cardio will strip muscle mass and body fat. This is definitely not the most efficient method for losing body fat. Once you begin stripping muscle mass, your body becomes less efficient at burning body fat. Muscle is metabolically active, which simply means it stimulates the metabolism.

For each pound of muscle you put on, you will burn up to 50 additional calories per day. If you strip muscle mass, all you accomplish is sabotaging your efforts to efficiently reduce body fat. Read the rest of this entry »

Quitting smoking is tough to do to say the least but there are a few things that you can lean on to make things easier for you. Here is a selection of 10 tips to help you to quit smoking.

1. What makes you keeps smoking? Write down those times that you have the urge to smoke before you quit. This way you know what situations to avoid when you do quit.

2. Look around for as many support people that have quit before that you can. Other peoples quitting smoking success can help you out. Go and solicit advice from those that you know that have quit before you. Was it nicotine gum, the patch, willpower?

3. Tell your family your plans to quit smoking. The very best support will come from home. Have your family treat you proudly for quitting smoking.

4. Throw away those smokes and clean everything that smells of smoke. When you are quitting smoking the last thing that you need is stinky clothes and ashtrays around, and access to cigarettes.

5. Make a list of reasons to quit smoking. Look at it every time you have a craving to smoke.

6. Keep your hands and mouth busy. Have lots of fresh fruit around to chew, start doodling and get a puzzle or two. Keep busy and make sure that you keep busy all of the time.

7. Drink lots of water. I am a big fan of water but you should really make sure to be detoxing your body with lots of water.

8. Start and exercise program. Why not try to make a lot of changes in your life all at once. Quit smoking and increase you health changes by exercising and taking advantage of your new healthy lifestyle.

9. Buy yourself some new things to prove to yourself that you have turned the corner. Make a lot of those changes that you can see all of the time. New clothes, new books, new food and drinks in the fridge. Forget the smokes and use these instead.

10. Buy any books or other support items that will help. The very best thing you can do in the end is engross yourself in anything that will support your new lifestyle change. Read quitting smoking books, watch inspiring videos, get all of those pieces of support that will help you in your weak moments after you quit.

Healthy eating is the first step to making sure that you are getting yourself more fit. There a a lot of great advantages to eating better and these include more energy, better concentration and less stomach and digestive problems. Currently, the typical American diet is low in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and high in saturated fat, salt, and sugar. As a result, more Americans than ever are overweight, obese, and at increased risk for chronic diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and certain cancers.

Older people are most likely to improve their eating habits, but nutrition is important for people of all ages, says Walter Willet, M.D., chairman of the nutrition department at the Harvard School of Public Health. “We know that when people have health problems or their friends become ill, these are strong motivators of change,” says Willet. “The more serious the health condition, the more serious the change. We’d rather people made changes early and prevent health problems in the first place.”

So what if you’re feeling trapped by a diet full of fast-food burgers and cookies? You can work your way out slowly but surely. Here are tips to move your eating habits in the right direction.
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There are some very high costs for Fruit and even vegetables these days. One of the best ways to stay healthy is to eat lots of fruits but the cost can be terrible. If you follow a few rules then you can lower you fruit costs.

Here are some tips to help you get a better deal on fruit or really any food that is seasonal or out of the area. Now that Spring is here and Summer is coming my house has a lot more fruit but we really struggle to buy cheap fruit. Here in Calgary I find fruit is expensive year round.

If you follow these produce buying tips you should get more bang for the buck as far as Fruit and vegetables goes.

• If your urban grocery doesn’t stock much produce, seek out local farmer’s markets or community gardens.
• Don’t forget that fruit and veggies in any form — fresh, frozen, canned, dried and 100% juice — count toward your 5 A Day requirement.
• Buy in volume from wholesalers or inexpensive food outlets like Costco, and freeze your excess stock.
• Keep it simple. More exotic fruits usually cost more than common varieties. For example, oranges are more affordable than kumquats, bananas are more budget-friendly than boysenberries, apples are easier on the wallet than Asian pears, etc.
• Get clipping — collect coupons and keep eyes peeled for in-store specials.
• Buy in season. As prices can vary greatly depending on the time of year and part of the country, know what fruits and vegetables are in season. Standard economics dictates prices rise with scarcity and fall with increased quantity.
• Remember that the closer that your produce is grown to you the fresher and lower the transport costs are.

This may seem like a strange way to shop for many people but as we run into more food shortages and the price of produce thanks to high transportation costs goes up this is a very good way to make your food buying dollar go farther. The biggest change for many people is not having any fruit and vegetables at any time as most of the list stresses better for you and better produce as it is closer to you and transported less.

If you are trying to gain muscle there are a few things that people do to sabotage themselves. I have done a few of these things in the past and just wanted to drop these here to let you know as I have nowhere else to put it.

Don’t drink booze. Alcohol is very bad for your metabolism and it will stop you from making any gains at all in the gym as well as punishing your body with dehydration, one thing you really do not need.

Although I did once write a bit on how great beer was for you, this is one of the worst things for your muscles as that old dehydration and lack of metabolism will really sap your gains. Read the rest of this entry »

Fat Loss 4 Idiots – Will It Help You Lose Weight?

Fat Loss for Idiots is a site and diet that my wife had learned about from her stepmom. Initially I looked at the Fat Loss For Idiots website and saw that after clicking though a bunch of pages of information I found that the program was only $39.

As a fitness and health enthusiast I know that there are no easy ways out of losing weight so when I first saw all of the hype around fat loss for idiots I was of course initially skeptical.

I have scoured the internet looking for more information on the Fat Loss For Idiots program and would like to present this to you here so that you can make an informed decision when you visit the Fat Loss For Idiots site.

Lose Weight Fast with Fat Loss 4 Idiots?

Fat Loss for Idiots claims you can lose 9 pounds lost in 11 days. Wow, is this possible? You probably have your doubts but I know because I have seen it happen, with the right diet and exercise program you can lose weight and lose it quickly.

Over the last year or so I have received over 200 success stories from people just like you. You can see them below.

After that quick weight loss it is important that you continue eating according to the plan and get some exercise of any kind and you will continue losing weight. The way the diet cycles means that you should lose weight every week with no bad weeks at all.

What do I not like about Fat Loss for Idiots?

Fat Loss for Idiots may be getting a lot of support by a lot of people but it is not all perfect. In watching how people use the diet I have found that some people have real problems with fat Loss for Idiots. First of all there is the dreaded “fruit day” one day of the cycle you eat nothing but fruit. Many people do not like this even though we all know how good fruit is for us.

One other problem with Fat loss for idiots is that you are supposed to eat until satisfied. Don’t stop when you are hungry and do not overeat but just until satisfied. But how much is satisfied? I am not sure what to say about this. People like to have a measured amount of food and doing it yourself is a little stressful. Read the rest of this entry »